


Petites douceurs de printemps

by Iggysassou



Series: Une Bouchée de Cherik [1]
Category: X-Men (Movies), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: "The Great British Bake Off" AU, AU "Le meilleur pâtissier, Alternate Universe - Modern: Still Have Powers, Charles is adorable and has a crush on Erik, Erik is Crushing Harder than a 12-year Old Girl, Logan and Moira are only mentionned, M/M, Raven hosts the show, They are candidates on a TV show and have to bake cakes to win, they don't actually say anything, they judge Erik and Charles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-21 07:01:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6042445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iggysassou/pseuds/Iggysassou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The past eight weeks had been exhausting to say the least, but Charles had made it through to the final of the Great British Bake Off. Only a few more minutes, and he would know whether he had won this year’s competition or not. But here was the tricky part. Part of him did not want to win. A tiny part of him did not even want the competition to end. Those eight weeks had been the best time of his life. He had made new friends, met some of the greatest pastry chefs in the world, baked his best cakes yet, and well… He had also developed the most embarrassing crush ever on Erik Lehnsherr, one of the contestants. </p><p>Aka the "Great British Bake Off" AU no one asked for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Petites douceurs de printemps

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Paramecie](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Paramecie).



The past eight weeks had been exhausting to say the least, but Charles had made it through to the final of the _Great British Bake Off_. Of course, there had been days when he had doubted himself, when the stove had suddenly decided to play tricks with him and burnt his cakes, but there he was nonetheless, on the last week of competition. Only a few more minutes, and he would know whether he had won this year’s competition or not. But here was the tricky part. Part of him did not want to win. A tiny part of him did not even want the competition to end. Those eight weeks had been the best time of his life. He had made new friends, met some of the greatest pastry chefs in the world, baked his best cakes yet, and well… He had also developed the most embarrassing crush ever on Erik Lehnsherr, one of the contestants. Crush that had kept on growing when the other man had taken to helping Charles and giving him small, secret smiles when he did well on a challenge.

From day 1, Charles had known Erik would be a formidable opponent. He was smart, quiet, calculating, and the cakes he presented to the jury were always perfect. Where Charles showed colourful, creative cakes designed to bring smiles to the jury, Erik presented cleanly cut cakes, with more subtle colours, modern shapes and close to perfect tastes. It was therefore no surprise they both made it to the final and, from what Charles had heard, the show producers expected a high peak of audience for this last episode. As the two men waited for Raven, the TV show host, to finally announce the winner, Charles reflected on their last week on the show.

The week had started off as usual with the ‘reinterpretation of a classic’ challenge given by the famous pastry chef Logan Howlett. The contestants were given a renowned cake or a pastry and asked to tweak its recipe and shape so that it would be unrecognisable at first glance. The challenge was that although the cake had to look different, its taste had to be the same so that jury would immediately recognise what cake it was supposed to be. Charles had won that first challenge with his interpretation of the _Mont Blanc_. He had given his pastry the shape of a yo-yo, using the vermicelli of chestnut cream to imitate the string and the meringue to make the two disks. Erik’s interpretation had been less daring, as he had only changed the cake’s usual round shape to a square one, and although it had tasted perfectly according to Logan, they had expected more from him for the final week. Charles had been close to disaster when his meringues had almost fell to the ground. He had put them on an iron stool to let them cool and, engrossed in the chestnut cream, he had bumped into the stool. By some miracle, the stool had not budged, the pastries had stayed on their tray, and he had ended up winning the challenge.

The second challenge had been ‘baking a forgotten cake’. This was Moira MacTaggert’s challenge. She would dig up forgotten cakes, or at least unusual cakes, and ask the candidate to bake them according to the recipe she would give them. However, it was not as easy as it might seem. Not only was it a technical challenge that tested the candidates’ capacity to deal with various techniques and aspects of bakery, but Moira also gave them an incomplete recipe, letting the candidates imagine what they were supposed to do. Unsurprisingly, Erik won that challenge. He was more rigorous than Charles when it came to baking and his technique was always point on. And if Charles had nudged him in the right direction by mentally whispering to him that he should leave the cake in the stove just another five minutes, well… It was only fair game. Erik had helped him out plenty of times during the competition.

For the very last challenge of the competition, their special guest had been Cyril Lignac, a renowned French pastry chef. With a bright smile and a heavy French accent, he had told the two men they were expected to invent an amazing wedding cake made up of 200 macaroons of various colours and taste in three hours. Charles had never been so stressed in his life before, which had led to many macaroons being destroyed or burnt, and him almost giving up. Thankfully, Raven had kept checking up on her two contestants, insisting on tasting their macaroons, the filling and making so many innuendos that Charles had ended up laughing to tears while Erik had rolled his eyes with a small smile, focused on his macaroons. Thanks to Raven, Charles had been able to finish his wedding cake just in time, earning a reverent look from Erik when the man had looked over at his creation.

Charles had decided to make an ombre wedding cake, with half of his macaroons tasting of strawberry while the rest tasted of vanilla and citrus. The macaroons at the bottom of the cake were red and as they reached the top, became progressively a lighter shade of red, pink, cream then white. He had even put (edible) golden glitter on some of them to make them pop out. The result was just as Charles had pictured it: soft and beautiful, but he knew the taste was far from perfect. He had forgotten to put the tiny bits of strawberry that were supposed to bring a sharpness to the macaroons and some of them had crackled.

On the other hand, Erik had made his most beautiful creation yet. His cake was elegant and sophisticated, with its white, grey and golden macaroons. Charles had no idea how he had found the time, but Erik had even managed to draw roses on the bottom macaroons, making it look like there was a bouquet under the cake. And as expected, they tasted of heaven. He knew so because Erik had offered him one of his extra macaroons and had they not been on set, Charles would have probably thrown himself at him.

Once the three hours were over, the jury had come back to take a look at the finished cakes. They had started off with Charles', immediately complimenting him on his choice of colours. Moira had pointed out that some of his macaroons were a bit crackled, but she was otherwise pleased with the various shades of red and pink he had managed to create for his cake. One they were done taking a look at the cake, Logan chosen a macaroons of each flavour to taste. The pastry chef had made his usual grumpy face as he chewed on them before smiling at Charles, much to his relief as it usually meant Logan was enjoying what he was eating. Still, Cyril Lignac had noticed the missing ingredient in his strawberry macaroons, and although it did not ruin the cake as a whole because only some macaroons were very good, Charles knew his small mistake could cost him the victory. The jury had then moved to take a look at Erik's wedding cake. His macaroons underwent the same ordeal as his, but Charles paid no attention to what they said, instead watching Erik's reactions, loving the way his eyes had lightened up, probably after getting a compliment from one of the jury. The jury had eventually left Charles and Erik with their guests to debate who would win this year's competition.

Charles and Erik were now nervously waiting for the results, both standing in front of a little crowd composed of their friends and relative. Charles glanced at Erik. The tall man looked as composed as ever, but Charles could feel the nervousness rolling off him. When Charles had entered the competition, he had promised never to peek into the other candidates’ head during the competition, but Erik’s feelings were brushing against his mental shields and it was all Charles could do to not lower his shields and extend his powers to help him calm down. After another few minutes of excruciating wait, Raven finally appeared with a white envelop in her hands, Logan and Moira on either side of her. She wore her usual warm smile as she reminded the audience of Charles’ and Erik’s achievements, as well as their extraordinary failure. She mentioned the friendship that had grown between all the candidates, the laughter they had shared as well as some amazing things that had happened on set (Alex, one of the early candidates, had somehow managed to burn off his eyebrows with one of his strange creation).

After another few minutes of a speech that brought a smile to everyone even Erik (and how Charles wished he saw it more often), Raven paused dramatically. “Here we are, guys.” She opened the enveloped, slowly pulling out the paper with the winner’s name, and glanced at the two men. Charles felt dizzy, he was so stressed! Why couldn’t she go faster? Maybe he should probe-

“Erik Lehnsherr! Congratulations Erik!”

Half of the crowd erupted in cheers while the other half let out disappointed groans, but they moved altogether to reach the men and congratulate them so that Charles and Erik were soon engulfed by their friends and family, getting warm hugs and proud smiles from them, while Raven turned to the camera to bid their audience goodbye.

Saying that Charles was disappointed was an understatement. He had spent weeks cooking, baking, and reading culinary books to get ready for this competition, right up until even his very best friends had started to refuse eating another one of his cakes. Not to mention that the competition had brought out the best out of him. He had produced his most beautiful and daring cakes yet, he had improved and learnt so much, it was heart-breaking to lose so close to the finish line. Charles let out a strangled laugh as Raven made her way through the crowd to hug him, saying that he had made her favourite cakes yet. They had grown rather fond of each other over the weeks, to the point where Raven almost felt like the little sister he never had.

“If I had had any say in this, you would have won! Your wedding cake was gorgeous, Charles. I demand the same one for my wedding.” She said with her dazzling smile, then lowered her voice. “Go talk to Erik, I’ll have everyone leave you alone for a few minutes, alright?” She shot him a sly look then pulled away, joking and smiling at the guest. “Now, who wants to eat some cake?!”

Charles felt his cheek reddening, damn his fair skin, but managed to compose himself as he turned around, looking for Erik. The man was standing a few feet away from him, talking to the jury, the brightest smile Charles had ever seen on his face. Charles felt his heart melting a little at the sight and his disappointment made way for pride. Losing to Erik was an honour, the man had been nothing but fair and nice to him during the competition, and well… Seeing him so happy was almost worth losing the competition. Charles groaned internally at his own thoughts. He was so infatuated it was embarrassing. Thank god Erik was not a telepath.

“Erik, congratulations. You deserve it, your cake was beautiful and delicious as always.” Charles said honestly as he extended a hand for him to shake. Erik quickly excused himself from the jury, thanking them again, then turned to Charles, his bright blue eyes shining with unshed tears. For a moment, they were both staring at each other silently, giving Charles plenty of time to admire the taller man's features, then Erik did something that surprised him: he pulled Charles into a hug, making his heart miss a beat or two. The strong arms were tight around Charles, holding him so close he could smell his powerful cologne, earthy with coppery hints, mixed with the sweet scent of cake. His embrace felt so warm and welcoming, Charles could have happily spent the rest of his life there.

 _Oh god, I love you_.

Erik froze and Charles felt dread wash over him. He had _not_ meant to project those thoughts. Erik didn’t even know he was a mutant, he had kept it a secret the whole competition, just as he was supposed to because the producers had asked him to sign a document that attested Charles would never use his power to his advantage during the competition, and now he had blown it up, and this was so embarrassing!

Charles hastily tried to pull away, tripping over his words as he tried to come up with an apology, an explanation, something that would have Erik stop looking at him like that, with wide eyes and his mouth gaping in shock.

“Erik, please, I can explain-“

“You’re a mutant, you’re a telepath!” Erik interrupted before Charles could finish. Charles looked around them nervously then relaxed slightly. The jury had left them alone in order to eat the cakes and chat with Raven and the other members of the show. He looked back at Erik, whose eyes were boring into his. “The voice in my head the other day, that was you.”

That was a statement, not a question. Charles hesitated then nodded, feeling like he was about to pass out. People rarely reacted well to learning he was a telepath. They often believed that meant Charles was constantly reading their minds and/or using his powers to make people like him. He could understand why people would feel that way, there were enough unsettling testimonies of telepaths abusing of their powers. “Yes, I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… I just wanted to help, your cake would have been ruined…” He replied clumsily then frowned. Erik was smiling. Why was he smiling?

“I had no idea there was another one here! Well, I guess it would make sense for the producers to hide it from us. We’d all be suspicious of each other otherwise, but still, I can’t believe I never realised.” Erik said pensively. He was still holding Charles. And he seemed happy, relieved even, not furious. Charles was thoroughly confused.

“What do you mean _another one_?” Charles stared at Erik as realisation dawned on him. “You mean you’re a mutant too?” He asked tentatively, not wanting to get his hopes up.

“Yes. I control metal. Well, there's more to it than just metal, but it's the main part.”

Charles paused at the reply, a swirl of emotion washing over him, then a thought crossed his mind and he gasped. “You senseless fool! You were the one who stopped my stool from tipping over the other day!” He accused, although his words held no heat. Ever since that day, he had been wondering what magic had been behind his stool stubbornly standing even though Charles had pushed it hard enough that it should have been sent crashing to the floor.

Erik let out a loud laugh, his whole face lighting up, and Charles found himself gazing at him once again. The tall man quickly got a hold of himself but he was still smiling when he looked down at Charles. “Guilty as charged. I couldn’t let your meringues finish on the floor when they looked so beautiful. And seeing as we are both shedding light on a few things we kept to ourselves… Did you mean it?” The question was serious this time. Charles was tempted to lie for a second but the intensity of Erik’s eyes and the tentative hope he could feel emanating from him made him change his mind.

“Yes. I obviously did not mean to tell you that like that, but well, I couldn’t keep it in apparently.” Charles replied with an embarrassed laugh, his cheeks reddening while Erik’s smile reappeared.

“Good, then you won’t mind if I do this.” Erik bent down and for the first in a long time, Charles didn’t bother to keep his mental shields up as his world suddenly comprised of nothing but the sensation of Erik’s lips on his, and the wordless feelings of _need_ , _happiness_ , _love_ , _YES_ , that washed over his thoughts.

Charles might have lost the competition, but in the end, however cliché that sounded, he had won something far more important.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! Do let me know if there are mistakes I missed, I had it beta'd it but neither me nor my best friend are native English speakers so we might have missed a few things.
> 
> This is also my first contribution to the x-men fandom! Hopefully it's not too bad. 
> 
> BONNE SAINT VALENTIN AROMATE :D pour une fois que je te fais un truc joyeux, profite!


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